CMS recently released its CY 2022 Final Rule for Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery (OAS) CAHPS. In accordance with previous Rules, this Final Rule included the future timeline where OAS CAHPS will become a mandatory survey for VBP reimbursement starting in CY 2024 and CY 2025 for hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), respectively. For organizations looking to administer OAS CAHPS, read below for “things to know” about the survey and how PRC can support your organization in collecting meaningful data surrounding patients’ outpatient surgical experiences.
What is the OAS CAHPS Survey?
OAS CAHPS surveys seek to capture patient perceptions of same-day surgical care with results publicly reported by CMS to further transparency and accountability in the healthcare experience. Participating organizations register for survey implementation on the OAS CAHPS official website and partner with one of CMS’ approved survey vendors. In total, the base OAS CAHPS survey consists of 34 questions that span the following dimensions:
- About Facilities and Staff
- Communications About Your Procedure
- Preparations for Discharge and Recovery
- Overall Rating of Facility
- Likelihood to Recommend
PRC as an approved vendor of OAS CAHPS; view our brochure to learn more about the survey.
What are the Latest Updates?
As mentioned in the introduction, CMS announced as part of the CY 2022 Final Rule that OAS CAHPS will become a mandatory required survey for HOPDs starting in CY 2024 and ASCs in CY 2025. The survey was originally voluntary when it was introduced in 2016, but following the mandatory status taking effect, organizations who do not submit OAS CAHPS data will receive a deduction in their reimbursement. CMS also recently announced new mixed mode methodologies authorized for OAS CAHPS surveys to include an esurvey component. Learn more about the mixed modes by revisiting our OAS CAHPS webinar.
How Can PRC Help?
PRC is a proud CMS-approved vendor conducting OAS CAHPS surveys across all methodologies. In the new mixed modes that include esurveys, PRC Esurveys provide your patients with a flexible, user-friendly survey experience on phones and web-based devices.
For telephone surveys, PRC utilizes a trained, in-house interviewing team who ensure professional, unbiased study administration with the highest CAHPS® response rates in the industry. PRC can also provide your organization with the opportunity to add custom questions to the base survey which uniquely measure excellence in the healthcare experience—a key indicator of patient loyalty and future recommendations.
No matter which methodology you choose, in addition to CMS’ public reporting, you can access your PRC data on PRC EasyView®, our in-depth data reporting platform with tools and features for meaningful drilldown and analysis of survey results in real time to ensure the most up-to-date insights possible
Contact our CAHPS® team at [email protected] with any further questions about OAS CAHPS or to speak with one of our experts about conducting OAS CAHPS in your organization.
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Sources and Further Reading:
CMS’ OAS CAHPS overview